tom cole says he's confident boehner can get the plans he needs. >> he had over 200 republican votes, it's not as if he doesn't have an awfully strong hand to play. if it's a deal john boehner request accept, frankly, i think it will be passed in a bipartisan manner with a strong majority. if on the other hand he's neutral and not favorable. then his chances are going to be a lot slimmer. >> we will find out in the morning whether any progress came out of the senate leader mitch mcconnell's meeting with vice president joe biden. >>> we've been asking you our viewers to send in your thoughts, your messages to elected representatives, so let's close tonight with some advice from one of you to washington. >> my message to all of washington for the new year is to set partisanship aside working on behalf of 100% of the voters, fix this mess you've gotten us into, bring a balanced budget to the table to grow this economy for the long term not the short term. >> have a good night. i'm don lemon, happy new year to you. >>> i'm don lemon, and this is cnn's top ten of 2012. this hour we look at